Good! I hated that puffy pink bastard and her constant mission to tell the laws of physics to kindly go screw themselves (yes, I still play Xenogears, it's my go-to game whenever I'm bored and nothing in my growing backlog seems interesting).

Xenosaga on the other hand, isn't a game. It's a movie that I watch where I maneuver the characters from scene to scene.

- I'm not Jesus, but I can turn water into Kool-Aid.- A Sergeant in motion outranks an officer who doesn't know what the hell is going on.- A demolitions specialist at a flat run outranks everybody.

Snake-Aes wrote:I liked the endings, contrary to apparently most. The convos with the Catalyst were "not in character", and the explanations afterwards are waaaay vague.But they don't detract from the ending enough for me to dislike the endings.

I wasn't really bothered by the original, but the new ending completely destroys the pacing.The grand speech Shep gives after the end was ridiculous, boring, and tried to justify my actions a posteriori without me having any say. She was all like "I always knew I'd have to control them..." when 15 minutes before I was telling TIM that he was crazy for thinking that.

Never played ME2 or ME3 in any difficulty other than "insane". Fun times.

I don't know you do it ! I've only finished them on hardcore, and I even had to switch back to normal for the last battle in ME3.I HATE infinite respawns.

Fivelives wrote:Good! I hated that puffy pink bastard and her constant mission to tell the laws of physics to kindly go screw themselves (yes, I still play Xenogears, it's my go-to game whenever I'm bored and nothing in my growing backlog seems interesting).

Xenosaga on the other hand, isn't a game. It's a movie that I watch where I maneuver the characters from scene to scene.

Some guy actually spliced together just about every cutscene for all 3 games, I think the result, just for Xenosaga 3 was a 9 hr movie.

Edit: actually, scratch that. Namco released a DVD version of all of the cutscenes as a bonus DVD packed in with Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra. They re-released it after it proved wildly popular in Japan.

- I'm not Jesus, but I can turn water into Kool-Aid.- A Sergeant in motion outranks an officer who doesn't know what the hell is going on.- A demolitions specialist at a flat run outranks everybody.

I recently had time to finish ME3 again with the DLC, and I really liked it.The extra bits they put in really works for it imo, and I liked the fact that they didnt really change anything, just added more info.But I never really accepted the old ending as an ending, after I finished it the first time I sorta just took that as work in progress (and screw all the indoctrination theories). So I didnt really care that it was different.Ive also had like 8 complete playthroughs now, so I feel that what actually happends doesnt really matter, but the options possible feel more interesting to me.

The "new" ending still left a few questions imo, altho none of them answers would make any difference All in all I feel its a big shame it wasnt released this way, I think everyone would talk about ME3 a lot different.

I'm a bit behind the times with this, I bought the original Mass Effect a month or two after it released for the PC, but never got much further than halfway through before it started crashing over and over and I subsequently lost interest. Now that I have 5 free days a week I decided I'd pick it up again. I completed it in 2 sittings - though I did kinda skip over a lot of side quests mostly because the main story is constantly telling you to "hurry cause everyone will die if you don't do this mission yesterday" - I think I'll replay it after I've done ME3.

ME2 so far has been great, just the change of pace from "hurry" to "do it if you want" is brilliant. I'm taking my time and speaking to everyone and having a blast just completely immersing myself in this universe. I love how characters that I helped in the first game pop up when you least expect it and thank you for whatever.

I think as far as RPGs go this series will knock TES off the top spot IMO, mostly because they voiced your character. Sure it's easier when there's only 2 combinations rather than 20 but I think by the time TES:VI rolls round they will have to address the issue. As the data size argument can't really hold any weight these days, the only thing that could is cost.

I too found I often felt the need to avoid frivolous side quests, "Find your lost puppy? DUDE! I'm trying to save the damn galaxy here!" Which I think is a sign of the mostly excellent writing, they managed to get me so into the story I'm 100% feeling the urgency rather than taking in all the content I can. I made sure to do all of them across my three playthroughs in the end, but it took that many times before I did it all.

"Definition: Love is making a connection with another person against long odds." "Clarification: Love is making a shot to the knees of a target 300 kilometers away using an Aratech sniper rifle with a tri-light scope."-HK-47WoW Millionaire

Just finished ME2 last night, zomg the last hour had me on the edge of my seat at every cutscene just praying Tali, Garrus and myself would be ok. About to plunge into ME3, can't wait.

Just imported my character and they changed the hair colour, I can't be a ginger headed hero anymore I can either go with the blonde colour they gave me or I can go with what is definitely a hair dye colour. The first line of dialogue better not be "Oh, Shepard you've dyed your hair, it suits you!" -.-

Arkesh wrote:Just finished ME2 last night, zomg the last hour had me on the edge of my seat at every cutscene just praying Tali, Garrus and myself would be ok. About to plunge into ME3, can't wait.

Just imported my character and they changed the hair colour, I can't be a ginger headed hero anymore I can either go with the blonde colour they gave me or I can go with what is definitely a hair dye colour. The first line of dialogue better not be "Oh, Shepard you've dyed your hair, it suits you!" -.-

I just went with default appearance for femshep. ME3's default femshep is pretty hot.

I understand, and was merely interjecting the point that I don't give a good goddamn what they said in the extended cut, it's was like that movie between Star Trek IV and Star Trek VI. It didn't happen.

So just finished ME3. Not quite sure what to think, I chose to destroy the reapers. I think I'm sad because I've just lost a character that I've grown quite attached to over the 60 hours or so that I've spent with her. Scratch that, I'm definitely sad because of that. Having just watched the refusal ending on youtube... I'm satisfied with my choice, although seeing my name go up on the wall that I've watched friends slowly add to it was quite painful. I'm glad I saved everyone that I really cared about, my only regret is Legion, I'ma gonna have to try and save him in the next playthrough, I unwittingly killed him in the ME2 suicide mission >.> (I don't want to know if he can't be saved, it's gonna be one of the biggest things keeping me going).

I honestly have never had a video game provoke so much raw emotion, there's been joy, tension, fear and everything between. Sure I'd have loved a happy ending with Shepard settling down with a family... but I don't think I'd have really enjoyed that half as much as the rollercoaster of an ending that Bioware gave us. I cannot wait to start a new character and take him/her (probably him this time, it's too soon to hear Jennifer Hale's voice (although I'm really eager to get back to finishing my Trooper's story in swtor when it's F2P) again ). I'm not sure if I'll play the polar opposite of what I've been playing (mostly paragon but after the reapers invade took a few renegade options that Shepard wouldn't have dreamed off 3 years ago) but I'll definitely mix it up a little.

To conclude my thoughts for tonight, zomg I want more from the Mass Effect universe and I want it now! Get cracking Bioware! Even if Shepard isn't in it, the galaxy they've created is so rich and diverse I want to keep exploring it for years to come.

To bed I go, doubt I'll sleep after that, it's now been about 35 mins since I completed the game and I'm still all over the place. Maybe I'll read the comics I bought from my Uncle's shop, need a ME fix so bad... What have I become?

Arkesh wrote:I'm glad I saved everyone that I really cared about, my only regret is Legion, I'ma gonna have to try and save him in the next playthrough, I unwittingly killed him in the ME2 suicide mission >.> (I don't want to know if he can't be saved, it's gonna be one of the biggest things keeping me going).

His story arc through ME3 is one of the parts I thought that was exceptionally well done. Moridin's was another, just so you have a comparison. There are multiple choices you can make, no-mega happy option no matter what you do, just meaningful story. Really wish that had translated to the ending of the game. Or, say, Miranda's plot, so that you weren't basically stuck with Liara if you wanted a male hetero romance option that wasn't Ashley.

Arkesh wrote:I cannot wait to start a new character and take him/her (probably him this time, it's too soon to hear Jennifer Hale's voice (although I'm really eager to get back to finishing my Trooper's story in swtor when it's F2P) again ).

I specifically made a Trooper just for this purpose. She's my little FemShep, with as close to the same appearance as the default FemShep from ME3 as I could manage (I liked that look a lot more than the mangled mutant that the importer tried to say was my Femshep from ME1 and 2). That said, she's on hold as I have my Knight almost done (Playing with my wife's Smuggler), my Bounty Hunter starting Act 3, and I'm really digging the Agent/Operative playstyle and Smuggler/Agent is the only buff I don't have unlocked via legacy.

I did enjoy Mordin's storyline throughout ME2 and 3, he's never going to be someone that I can see myself taking in a squad, but as far as friendly scientists go, I'd have no other. On the flipside of that... I can't really see myself not saving Ashley, Jacob will probably always die too... (I really have never liked Cerberus) I think once I'm home from work tomorrow I'll fire up ME1 and start a new story.

I actually didn't realise it was the same person who voiced the trooper and femshep until I was halfway through ME3. Nor did I realise that Ashley's appearance was based on Erica Cerra whom I've watched in Eureka for years, I figured it was just a coincidence. I'ma have to pay attention for Adam Baldwin and Michael Dorn's voices. I did recognise Claudia Black, probably helped by her appearance with Kate Mulgrew in Dragon Age: Origins and Marina Sirtis.

As for the romance options, I didn't realise there was such a thing until Traynor asked if she could use my shower. I'm definitely gonna have to spend a lot more time exploring in ME1 rather than doing what I'm told and rushing to save the galaxy. I spent three times as much time in ME2 and 3 and I wish I had just dawdled a bit more in the first. I think I'll be reading most of the Codex entries as well this time through, I've probably missed a frackton of lore in those.

I don't think I've geeked out this much about any fictional universe before. I'm gonna have to get the books when I'm done with the comics and my uncle's shop has a fantastic scale model of the Normandy, if it's still there the next time I'm there I'm definitely getting it. I feel like I should be a recurring cast member of The Big Bang Theory...

In ME1 I spent most of my time with Ash and Garrus, then in ME2 it shifted to Tali (Dem probes too stronk) and Garrus then ME3 kinda forced me to take a biotic for the cerberus guys with shields so Liara and Ash ended up being my team most of the time. I'm not going in with a plan for this playthrough other than being a bit different to the previous one, I'll probably still distrust Cerberus and I'll probably still just be a boring Soldier although I might opt for an Adept... I'll see.

Just waiting for Bring Down the Sky to finish downloading then I'll get started.